South Elgin Lions jump into tree planting

Last year, when Lions Club International President Lion Wing-Kun Tam took office, he challenged all Lions Clubs worldwide to plant one million trees by the end of his term, which expires at the end of June 2012.

Environmental projects have always been a part of Lions Clubs, but this year, Tam wanted caring for the environment to be an important extension of service. As stated in his acceptance speech, this is the only home we have and “many experts believe that we can reverse the strains we have placed on our planet. The challenge is getting enough people to understand they can make a difference even by doing simple things like planting a tree.”

The South Elgin Leo Club has been hosting several fundraisers to benefit Lions Park, located on the east side of South Elgin, throughout the past year. A portion of those proceeds went to the tree the Leos planted with Tam in Lions Park on May 9. The South Elgin Lions also planted a tree in Lions Park last fall.

Meetings from any international president are a rare event for any club or district, and the South Elgin Lions were honored to host this meeting for District 1J. During his opening remarks, President Tam stated that when he issued his challenge last year, he was very felt the goal was to large and would most likely not be met; however, as of May, a total of 9,575,312 trees have been planted. Simply put, the Lions and Leos worldwide feel that planting trees is really one of the best things to be done for the local environment, since benefits include prevention of soil erosion, preserving local water sources and the fact that trees act as the lungs for the planet.

The South Elgin Lions Club also promotes diabetes awareness and provides hearing tests and hearing aids to those in financial need. This club remains very active in the community by participating in South Elgin RiverFest, Candy Day, hosting Bingo every Saturday night and several fundraisers throughout the year. With the money raised, the club has been able to make donations to South Elgin families in need, Holiday Food Baskets, South Elgin Food Pantry, Salvation Army, Little Angels Nursing Home and many others.

The club meets at 6 p.m. the first Wednesday of every month, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. For information on membership, call (847) 888-9575 or visit www.southelginlions.com. The club also is on Facebook.